Succeeding as a team is an effective
motivator of employee performance. A good team leader enables team members to
collaborate and communicate more effectively. They also need to take a good
look at the team and diagnose what is hampering communication and decision making.

Some common problems in a team include:

Conflicting
styles of decision making: Your job as team
leader is to make decisions based on principles rather than personality.

Lack of trust: Trust is essential for any team – it is the
foundation of collaboration. It takes a leader who is willing to show integrity
and take on the hard work of dealing with differences to build trust within a
team.

In addition to a strong team leader,
teams need strong team players to perform well and take initiative.

Communicate
constructively: Do not shy away
from making a point but make it in the best way possible — clearly, directly
and respectfully.

Listen: Teams need team players who can absorb and
understand ideas without debating every point. Such a team member also can
receive criticism without reacting defensively.

Actively
participate: Be prepared in
meetings, listen and speak up in discussions. Engage in the work of the team
and do not sit passively on the sidelines.

Support the team:
Team players show courtesy and
consideration to other team members.

Share: Share information, knowledge and experience.
Take the initiative to keep other team members informed. Good team players are
active in informal sharing – they pass along important information to keep
other team members in the loop.

Cooperate: Work with others and
act together to accomplish a job. Respond to requests for assistance and take
the initiative to offer help.

Be flexible: Teams often deal with changing conditions —
and often create changes. A flexible team member can consider different points
of views and compromise when needed.

Solve problems: Team players get problems out in the open for
discussion and then collaborate with others to find solutions and form action
plans.

Show commitment: Strong team players care about their work,
the team and the team's work. They want to give a good effort and want other
team members to do the same.

Be reliable: Make sure you do your fair share and meet
commitments. Be consistent by delivering a good performance all the
time, not just some of the time.

When team members take on full
responsibility for their own success, they are more productive and make better
decisions. Strong team leaders and good team players are the foundation of a
successful business.

NOTE: This post originally appeared on
our U.K. sister site. Minimal edits were made to the content.